This invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying reinforcing tabs to sheets held in a loose-leaf binder to reinforce the holes in the sheets through which the rings of the binder pass.
The tendency of sheets of paper and the like held in a loose-leaf binder to rip or tear in the margin area of the sheet between the edge of the sheet and the hole through which the binder ring passes is well known. Various types of reinforcing tabs, such as annular rings of cloth having a water-activated glue backing, are available for repairing torn sheets or for reinforcing sheets to prevent them from being torn. However, most reinforcing tabs cannot be applied conveniently to the sheets unless the sheets are removed from the binder. This is burdensome and time-consuming, particularly when reinforcing a large number of sheets.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,906, issued June 23, 1981, an apparatus for automatically applying reinforcing tabs to loose-leaf sheets without requiring that the sheets be removed from a binder is disclosed. That apparatus comprises a case having a tab guide projecting therefrom. The tab guide is sized to fit within the ring of the loose-leaf binder and to position a tabbearing carrier strip between the edge of the sheet and the hole in the sheet through which the ring passes. Means are mounted on the case for advancing the carrier strip around an end of the tab guide within the ring; means are included for separating a tab from the carrier strip as it passes around the end; and means are provided on the tab guide for pressing the tab onto the sheet. Although the apparatus works very well to enable reinforcing tabs to be applied to loose-leaf sheets without the necessity of removing the sheets from the binder, it is desirable to provide a simpler, less expensive apparatus for reinforcing sheets in a loose-leaf binder, and it is to this end that the present invention is directed. The invention also provides a very simple method for applying such reinforcing tabs.